Acupuncture has been used for centuries to heal the body;it is essential to comprehend the mechanism of acupuncture within the modern medical framework.By far much research provided a modern scientific understanding o...Acupuncture has been used for centuries to heal the body;it is essential to comprehend the mechanism of acupuncture within the modern medical framework.By far much research provided a modern scientific understanding of how acupuncture works,most of them indicated that nervous system is involved.However,few studies have been conducted on how acupuncture trigger the nervous system.When the thin needle inserts the acupoint,the mechanical stress generated by acupuncture is the key factor of acupuncture effect.The first peripheral receptors activated in this process are mechanoreceptors,which are sensitive to mechanical forces.The purpose of this review is to explore the connection between the mechanoreceptors located in the skin and subcutaneous tissues and the acupuncture therapy.It also attempts to clue the possible roles of mechanoreceptors in the skin surface and subcutaneous tissue during the acupuncture manipulation and electroacupuncture.展开更多
t Touch sensation is critical for our social and environmental interactions. In mammals, most discriminative light touch sensation is mediated by the Aβ low-threshold mechanoreceptors. Cell bodies of Aβ low-threshol...t Touch sensation is critical for our social and environmental interactions. In mammals, most discriminative light touch sensation is mediated by the Aβ low-threshold mechanoreceptors. Cell bodies of Aβ low-threshold mechanoreceptors are located in the dorsal root ganglia and trigeminal ganglia, which extend a central projection innervating the spinal cord and brain stem and a peripheral projection innervating the specialized mechanosensory end organs. These specialized mechanosensory end organs include Meissner＇s corpuscles, Pacinian corpuscles, lanceolate endings, Merkel cells, and Ruffini corpuscles. The morphologies and physiological properties of these mechanosensory end organs and their innervating neurons have been investigated for over a century. In addition, recent advances in mouse genetics have enabled the identification of molecular mechanisms underlying the development of Aβ low- threshold mechanoreceptors, which highlight the crucial roles of neurotrophic factor signaling and transcription factor activity in this process. Here, we will review the anatomy, physiological properties, and development of mammalian low- threshold Aβ mechanoreceptors.展开更多
The combination of flexible sensors and bionic innovative design has become an important direction for the development of intelligent sensing technology.To this end,this paper systematically describes the latest resea...The combination of flexible sensors and bionic innovative design has become an important direction for the development of intelligent sensing technology.To this end,this paper systematically describes the latest research progress of bionic sensors inspired by the synergistic mechanism of“stress concentration-high pass filtering-omnidirectional localization”of scorpion slit receptors.First,it presents breakthroughs such as ultra-high sensitivity through gradient-cracked structures,dynamic signal decoupling mediated by viscoelastic materials,and omnidirectional localization accuracy supported by curvilinear array layouts.Aiming at the cross-interference and integration redundancy problems faced by traditional multimodal sensing systems,this paper introduces a vertically stacked heterogeneous integration strategy.Through the synergistic design of bionic stretchable conductive film and strain-isolated communication interfaces,a flexible multimodal sensing system with pressure-temperature bimodal sensing,multiaxial stress decoupling,and spatial distribution tracking capability is successfully constructed.Relevant research further confirms that the bionic architecture shows significant advantages in medical monitoring,industrial equipment health management and lunar rover terrain sensing scenarios.It provides a new paradigm of cross-scale structure-function synergistic optimization for the development of adaptive intelligent sensing systems in extreme environments,and marks an important leap in the integration of bionic flexible electronics from single-device innovation to systematic technology.展开更多
Clinical studies have found that patients withcervical degenerative disease are usually accompanied by dizziness.Anterior cervical surgery can eliminate not only chronic neck pain,cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy,...Clinical studies have found that patients withcervical degenerative disease are usually accompanied by dizziness.Anterior cervical surgery can eliminate not only chronic neck pain,cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy,but also dizziness.Immunohistochemical studies show that a large number of mechanoreceptors,especially Ruffini corpuscles,are present in degenerated cervical discs.The available evidence suggests a key role of Ruffini corpuscles in the pathogenesis of dizziness caused by cervical degenerative disease(i.e.cervical discogenic dizziness).Disc degeneration is characterized by an elevation of inflammatory cytokines,which stimulates the mechanoreceptors in degenerated discs and results in peripheral sensitization.Abnormal cervical proprioceptive inputs from the mechanoreceptors are transmitted to the central nervous system,resulting in sensory mismatches with vestibular and visual information and leads to dizziness.In addition,neck pain caused by cervical disc degeneration can play a key role in cervical discogenic dizziness by increasing the sensitivity of muscle spindles.Like cervical discogenic pain,the diagnosis of cervical discogenic dizziness can be challenging and can be made only after other potential causes of dizziness have been ruled out.Conservative treatment is effective for the majority of patients.Existing basic and clinical studies have shown that cervical intervertebral disc degeneration can lead to dizziness.展开更多
Dorsal root ganglion （DRG） neurons from newborn Wistar rats cultured in vitro were pressurized with 20, 40, 80 or 120 mm Hg compressive Ioadings （1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa） for 12, 24, 48 or 72 hours, respectively. The ...Dorsal root ganglion （DRG） neurons from newborn Wistar rats cultured in vitro were pressurized with 20, 40, 80 or 120 mm Hg compressive Ioadings （1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa） for 12, 24, 48 or 72 hours, respectively. The 3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide test showed that pressures less than 80 mm Hg had no obvious impact on the activity of DRG neurons. The protein expression levels of transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 4 （TRPV4）, transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1, transient receptor potential channel of melastatin type 8, and transient receptor potential subtype ankyrin 1 were assessed by western blot analysis. The mRNA expression of TRPV4 was assessed by real-time PCR. The results showed that sustained mechanical compression up-regulated TRPV4 mRNA and protein expression in the rat DRG neurons, in a time-dependent fashion. Similar changes were not found in the protein expression of transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1, transient receptor potential channel of melastatin type 8, and transient receptor potential subtype ankyrin 1. Images of cells using a laser scanning confocal microscope showed that the sustained mechanical pressure increased the number of responsive DRG neurons and was synergistic on the enhanced Ca^2＋ responses to the TRPV4 phorbol ester agonist 4a-phorbo112, 13-didecanoate and hypotonic solutions. These findings demonstrate that sustained mechanical compressive loading in vitro increases the expression of TRPV4 mRNA and protein in DRG neurons and sensitizes TRPV4 Ca^2＋ signals. Mechanical compression does not impact other ion channels in the transient receptor potential family.展开更多
Although neurophysiological and psychophysical proof of osseoperception is accumulating, histomorphometric evidence for the neural mechanisms of functional compensation following immediate and delayed implant loading ...Although neurophysiological and psychophysical proof of osseoperception is accumulating, histomorphometric evidence for the neural mechanisms of functional compensation following immediate and delayed implant loading is still lacking. For this randomized split-mouth study, six mongrel dogs randomly received one of four treatment protocols at 36 implant-recipient sites over 16 weeks （third maxillary incisor, third and fourth mandibular premolar）： immediate implant placement and immediate loading （liP＋ IL）; delayed implant placement and delayed loading （DIP＋DL）; delayed implant placement and immediate loading （DIP＋IL）; and natural extraction socket healing （control）. Histomorphometry was performed in the peri-implant bone and soft tissues within 300 pm around the implants. Immunocytochemistry and transmission electron microscopy were used to confirm the presence of neural structures and to reveal their ultrastructural characteristics, respectively. Myelinated nerve fibres densely populated the peri-implant crestal gingival and apical regions, although they were also identified in the woven bone and in the osteons near the implant threads. Compared with the control group in the mandible, the group that received IIP＋IL showed a higher innervation （in N.mm^-2, 5.94±1.12 vs. 3.15±0.63, P〈0.001） and smaller fibre diameter （in pm, 1.37±0.05 vs. 1.64±0.13, P=0.016）, smaller axon diameter （in pm, 0.89±0.05 vs. 1.24±0,10, P=0.009） and g-ratio （0.64±0.04 vs. 0.76±0.05, P〈0.001） in the middle region around the implants. Compared with DIP＋IL in the mandible, IIP＋IL had a higher nerve density （in N.mm^-2, 13.23±2.54 vs. 9.64±1.86, P=0.027）, greater fibre diameter （in pm, 1.32±0.02 vs. 1.20±0.04, P=0.021）, greater axon diameter （in μm, 0.92±0.01 vs. 0.89±0.03, P=-0.035） and lower g-ratio （0.69±0.01 vs. 0.74±0.01, P=-0.033） in the apical region around the implants. It may be assumed that the treatment protocol with liP＋ IL is the preferred method to allow optimized peri-implant re-innervation, but further functional measurements are still required.展开更多
The pursuit to mimic skin exteroceptive ability has motivated the endeavors for epidermal artificial mechanoreceptors.Artificial mechanoreceptors are required to be highly sensitive to capture imperceptible skin defor...The pursuit to mimic skin exteroceptive ability has motivated the endeavors for epidermal artificial mechanoreceptors.Artificial mechanoreceptors are required to be highly sensitive to capture imperceptible skin deformations and preferably to be self-powered,breathable,lightweight and deformable to satisfy the prolonged wearing demands.It is still struggling to achieve these traits in single device,as it remains difficult to minimize device architecture without sacrificing the sensitivity or stability.In this article,we present an all-fiber iontronic triboelectric mechanoreceptor(ITM)to fully tackle these challenges,enabled by the high-output mechano-to-electrical energy conversion.The proposed ITM is ultralight,breathable and stretchable and is quite stable under various mechanical deformations.On the one hand,the ITM can achieve a superior instantaneous power density;on the other hand,the ITM shows excellent sensitivity serving as epidermal sensors.Precise health status monitoring is readily implemented by the ITM calibrating by detecting vital signals and physical activities of human bodies.The ITM can also realize acoustic-to-electrical conversion and distinguish voices from different people,and biometric application as a noise dosimeter is demonstrated.The ITM therefore is believed to open new sights in epidermal electronics and skin prosthesis fields.展开更多
Mechanoreceptors play a vital role for animals to sense and monitor environmental parameters,like flow speed,tactile resistance,and pressure.The hairy-structured trichoid sensillum,a common type of mechanoreceptor in ...Mechanoreceptors play a vital role for animals to sense and monitor environmental parameters,like flow speed,tactile resistance,and pressure.The hairy-structured trichoid sensillum,a common type of mechanoreceptor in insects,is generally non-motile,embedded in a socket connected with cuticular substrate.However,we discover that the trichoid sensilla on the tongue of western bees(Apis mellifera L.)is rotatable and can be actively maneuvered by bees.The trichoid sensilla together with the socket base are mounted on the origami-like sheath of the tongue,and can rotate outwards along with the deformation of the tongue sheath.We illustrate that the rotation of the tongue sensilla hairs can locally generate shear force in the liquid to sense the viscosity,which may facilitate bees to adjust their feeding strategies.The viscosity sensitivity of the rotatable trichoid sensilla based on the origami-like mechanism,according to our mechanical model,is 13 times greater than that of the fixed sensilla.In addition,our finite element analysis shows that strain would concentrate on the trichoid sensilla base when rotating in the liquid,which may structurally enhance its perception sensitivity.This study reports a new mechanism of active mechanoreceptors and may have implications for origami mechanisms with correlative functional components,especially for micro-robotic systems used in underwater viscosity sensing.展开更多
Light and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)were used to study the epidermal lateral line system of the Si-berian sturgeon(Acipenser baerii Brandt,1869).This system consists of mechanoreceptive neuromasts,ampul-lae and...Light and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)were used to study the epidermal lateral line system of the Si-berian sturgeon(Acipenser baerii Brandt,1869).This system consists of mechanoreceptive neuromasts,ampul-lae and the electroreceptive organ.The neuromasts are located in 5 pairs of cephalic and 1 pair of trunk canals and superficially in the middle and posterior pit lines that lie dorsomedially along the top of the skull immedi-ately adjacent to the otic ampullae field.Both canal neuromasts and pit organ superficial neuromasts have oppo-site polarized hair cells that are parallel along the axis of the canal and pit line,respectively.However,they dif-fer in both size and shape and in the density and length of the hair bundles.The ampullae are confined on the head,adjacent to the neuromast lines.The morphological structure of the ampullae in the Siberian sturgeon is similar to the ampullae in elasmobranchs and other primitive fish.Nevertheless,it has a relatively large mucus-filled ampulla,and a shorter and narrower canal leading to a small opening to the outer epidermal surface.We also present new information concerning the peripheral innervation of lateral line receptors in sturgeons.The re-ceptors of the lateral line system are innervated by 2 pairs of cranial nerves:anterior and posterior lateral line nerves.The peripheral processes of the anterior lateral line nerve form superficial ophthalmic,buccal,otic and anteroventral rami.The peripheral processes of the posterior lateral line nerve form middle,supratemporal and lateral rami.展开更多
Almost every life form,from the tiniest bacterium to humans,is mechanosensitive,implying it can use mechani-cal stresses to trigger certain physiological responses in the form of electric signals.Mechanotransduction l...Almost every life form,from the tiniest bacterium to humans,is mechanosensitive,implying it can use mechani-cal stresses to trigger certain physiological responses in the form of electric signals.Mechanotransduction largely relies on ion channels that respond to mechanical forces,such as the epithelial sodium channels/degenerins,tran-sient receptor potential channel,and the two-pore domain potassium channel.Piezo1 and Piezo2 proteins were discovered to be the biggest non-selective mechanosensitive cation channels in the cell membrane.A substantial amount of research has previously been published on the Piezo channel’s function in touch sensation,balance,and cardiovascular regression.However,the mechanistic perspective must be refined to fully understand the role of Piezo proteins in tissue engineering.This review centers on the latest insights into the structure of Piezo chan-nels,activation mechanisms,and its interactions with cytoskeletal components,by emphasizing the physiological activities of Piezo channels in different tissues.The study also places focus on the possibilities of targeting this cation channel family as a tissue regeneration aid.展开更多
The cognition of spatiotemporal tactile stimuli,including fine spatial stimuli and static/dynamic temporal stimuli,is paramount for intelligent robots to feel their surroundings and complete manipulation tasks.However...The cognition of spatiotemporal tactile stimuli,including fine spatial stimuli and static/dynamic temporal stimuli,is paramount for intelligent robots to feel their surroundings and complete manipulation tasks.However,current tactile sensors have restrictions on simultaneously demonstrating high sensitivity and performing selective responses to static/dynamic stimuli,making it a challenge to effectively cognize spatiotemporal tactile stimuli.Here,we report a high-sensitive and self-selective humanoid mechanoreceptor(HMR)that can precisely respond to spatiotemporal tactile stimuli.The HMR with PDMS/chitosan@CNTs(PDMS:polydimethylsiloxane;CNT:carbon nanotube)graded microstructures and polyurethane hierarchical porous spacer exhibits high sensitivity of 3790.8 kPa^(-1).The HMR demonstrates self-selective responses to static and dynamic stimuli with mono signal through the hybrid of piezoresistive and triboelectric mechanisms.Consequently,it can respond to spatiotemporal tactile stimuli and generate distinguishable and multi-type characteristic signals.With the assistance of the convolutional neural network,multiple target objects can be easily identified with a high accuracy of 99.1%.This work shows great potential in object precise identification and dexterous manipulation,which is the basis of intelligent robots and natural human-machine interactions.展开更多
Flexible pressure sensors with high sensitivity and linearity are highly desirable for robot sensing and human physiological signal detection.However,the current strategies for stabilizing axial microstructures(e.g.,m...Flexible pressure sensors with high sensitivity and linearity are highly desirable for robot sensing and human physiological signal detection.However,the current strategies for stabilizing axial microstructures(e.g.,micro-pyramids)are mainly susceptible to structural stiffening during compression,thereby limiting the realization of high sensitivity and linearity.Here,we report a bending-induced nonequilibrium compression process that effectively enhances the compressibility of microstructures,thereby crucially improving the efficiency of interfacial area growth of electric double layer(EDL).Based on this principle,we fabricate an iontronic flexible pressure sensor with vertical graphene(VG)array electrodes.Ultra-high sensitivity(185.09 kPa^(-1))and linearity(R^(2)=0.9999)are realized over a wide pressure range(0.49 Pa–66.67 k Pa).It also exhibits remarkable mechanical stability during compression and bending.The sensor is successfully employed in a robotic gripping task to recognize the targets of different materials and shapes based on a multilayer perception(MLP)neural network.It opens the door to realizing haptic sensing capabilities for robotic hands and prosthetic limbs.展开更多
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)81973967.
文摘Acupuncture has been used for centuries to heal the body;it is essential to comprehend the mechanism of acupuncture within the modern medical framework.By far much research provided a modern scientific understanding of how acupuncture works,most of them indicated that nervous system is involved.However,few studies have been conducted on how acupuncture trigger the nervous system.When the thin needle inserts the acupoint,the mechanical stress generated by acupuncture is the key factor of acupuncture effect.The first peripheral receptors activated in this process are mechanoreceptors,which are sensitive to mechanical forces.The purpose of this review is to explore the connection between the mechanoreceptors located in the skin and subcutaneous tissues and the acupuncture therapy.It also attempts to clue the possible roles of mechanoreceptors in the skin surface and subcutaneous tissue during the acupuncture manipulation and electroacupuncture.
文摘t Touch sensation is critical for our social and environmental interactions. In mammals, most discriminative light touch sensation is mediated by the Aβ low-threshold mechanoreceptors. Cell bodies of Aβ low-threshold mechanoreceptors are located in the dorsal root ganglia and trigeminal ganglia, which extend a central projection innervating the spinal cord and brain stem and a peripheral projection innervating the specialized mechanosensory end organs. These specialized mechanosensory end organs include Meissner＇s corpuscles, Pacinian corpuscles, lanceolate endings, Merkel cells, and Ruffini corpuscles. The morphologies and physiological properties of these mechanosensory end organs and their innervating neurons have been investigated for over a century. In addition, recent advances in mouse genetics have enabled the identification of molecular mechanisms underlying the development of Aβ low- threshold mechanoreceptors, which highlight the crucial roles of neurotrophic factor signaling and transcription factor activity in this process. Here, we will review the anatomy, physiological properties, and development of mammalian low- threshold Aβ mechanoreceptors.
基金funded by the Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52021003)“Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities”.
文摘The combination of flexible sensors and bionic innovative design has become an important direction for the development of intelligent sensing technology.To this end,this paper systematically describes the latest research progress of bionic sensors inspired by the synergistic mechanism of“stress concentration-high pass filtering-omnidirectional localization”of scorpion slit receptors.First,it presents breakthroughs such as ultra-high sensitivity through gradient-cracked structures,dynamic signal decoupling mediated by viscoelastic materials,and omnidirectional localization accuracy supported by curvilinear array layouts.Aiming at the cross-interference and integration redundancy problems faced by traditional multimodal sensing systems,this paper introduces a vertically stacked heterogeneous integration strategy.Through the synergistic design of bionic stretchable conductive film and strain-isolated communication interfaces,a flexible multimodal sensing system with pressure-temperature bimodal sensing,multiaxial stress decoupling,and spatial distribution tracking capability is successfully constructed.Relevant research further confirms that the bionic architecture shows significant advantages in medical monitoring,industrial equipment health management and lunar rover terrain sensing scenarios.It provides a new paradigm of cross-scale structure-function synergistic optimization for the development of adaptive intelligent sensing systems in extreme environments,and marks an important leap in the integration of bionic flexible electronics from single-device innovation to systematic technology.
文摘Clinical studies have found that patients withcervical degenerative disease are usually accompanied by dizziness.Anterior cervical surgery can eliminate not only chronic neck pain,cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy,but also dizziness.Immunohistochemical studies show that a large number of mechanoreceptors,especially Ruffini corpuscles,are present in degenerated cervical discs.The available evidence suggests a key role of Ruffini corpuscles in the pathogenesis of dizziness caused by cervical degenerative disease(i.e.cervical discogenic dizziness).Disc degeneration is characterized by an elevation of inflammatory cytokines,which stimulates the mechanoreceptors in degenerated discs and results in peripheral sensitization.Abnormal cervical proprioceptive inputs from the mechanoreceptors are transmitted to the central nervous system,resulting in sensory mismatches with vestibular and visual information and leads to dizziness.In addition,neck pain caused by cervical disc degeneration can play a key role in cervical discogenic dizziness by increasing the sensitivity of muscle spindles.Like cervical discogenic pain,the diagnosis of cervical discogenic dizziness can be challenging and can be made only after other potential causes of dizziness have been ruled out.Conservative treatment is effective for the majority of patients.Existing basic and clinical studies have shown that cervical intervertebral disc degeneration can lead to dizziness.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program),No. 30872732the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Youths,No.81101453
文摘Dorsal root ganglion （DRG） neurons from newborn Wistar rats cultured in vitro were pressurized with 20, 40, 80 or 120 mm Hg compressive Ioadings （1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa） for 12, 24, 48 or 72 hours, respectively. The 3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide test showed that pressures less than 80 mm Hg had no obvious impact on the activity of DRG neurons. The protein expression levels of transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 4 （TRPV4）, transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1, transient receptor potential channel of melastatin type 8, and transient receptor potential subtype ankyrin 1 were assessed by western blot analysis. The mRNA expression of TRPV4 was assessed by real-time PCR. The results showed that sustained mechanical compression up-regulated TRPV4 mRNA and protein expression in the rat DRG neurons, in a time-dependent fashion. Similar changes were not found in the protein expression of transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1, transient receptor potential channel of melastatin type 8, and transient receptor potential subtype ankyrin 1. Images of cells using a laser scanning confocal microscope showed that the sustained mechanical pressure increased the number of responsive DRG neurons and was synergistic on the enhanced Ca^2＋ responses to the TRPV4 phorbol ester agonist 4a-phorbo112, 13-didecanoate and hypotonic solutions. These findings demonstrate that sustained mechanical compressive loading in vitro increases the expression of TRPV4 mRNA and protein in DRG neurons and sensitizes TRPV4 Ca^2＋ signals. Mechanical compression does not impact other ion channels in the transient receptor potential family.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (81000459)the Chinese Scholarship Council
文摘Although neurophysiological and psychophysical proof of osseoperception is accumulating, histomorphometric evidence for the neural mechanisms of functional compensation following immediate and delayed implant loading is still lacking. For this randomized split-mouth study, six mongrel dogs randomly received one of four treatment protocols at 36 implant-recipient sites over 16 weeks （third maxillary incisor, third and fourth mandibular premolar）： immediate implant placement and immediate loading （liP＋ IL）; delayed implant placement and delayed loading （DIP＋DL）; delayed implant placement and immediate loading （DIP＋IL）; and natural extraction socket healing （control）. Histomorphometry was performed in the peri-implant bone and soft tissues within 300 pm around the implants. Immunocytochemistry and transmission electron microscopy were used to confirm the presence of neural structures and to reveal their ultrastructural characteristics, respectively. Myelinated nerve fibres densely populated the peri-implant crestal gingival and apical regions, although they were also identified in the woven bone and in the osteons near the implant threads. Compared with the control group in the mandible, the group that received IIP＋IL showed a higher innervation （in N.mm^-2, 5.94±1.12 vs. 3.15±0.63, P〈0.001） and smaller fibre diameter （in pm, 1.37±0.05 vs. 1.64±0.13, P=0.016）, smaller axon diameter （in pm, 0.89±0.05 vs. 1.24±0,10, P=0.009） and g-ratio （0.64±0.04 vs. 0.76±0.05, P〈0.001） in the middle region around the implants. Compared with DIP＋IL in the mandible, IIP＋IL had a higher nerve density （in N.mm^-2, 13.23±2.54 vs. 9.64±1.86, P=0.027）, greater fibre diameter （in pm, 1.32±0.02 vs. 1.20±0.04, P=0.021）, greater axon diameter （in μm, 0.92±0.01 vs. 0.89±0.03, P=-0.035） and lower g-ratio （0.69±0.01 vs. 0.74±0.01, P=-0.033） in the apical region around the implants. It may be assumed that the treatment protocol with liP＋ IL is the preferred method to allow optimized peri-implant re-innervation, but further functional measurements are still required.
基金Research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(52173274)the National Key R&D Project from Minister of Science and Technology(2021YFA1201603)+1 种基金the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA16021101)Open access funding provided by Shanghai Jiao Tong University
文摘The pursuit to mimic skin exteroceptive ability has motivated the endeavors for epidermal artificial mechanoreceptors.Artificial mechanoreceptors are required to be highly sensitive to capture imperceptible skin deformations and preferably to be self-powered,breathable,lightweight and deformable to satisfy the prolonged wearing demands.It is still struggling to achieve these traits in single device,as it remains difficult to minimize device architecture without sacrificing the sensitivity or stability.In this article,we present an all-fiber iontronic triboelectric mechanoreceptor(ITM)to fully tackle these challenges,enabled by the high-output mechano-to-electrical energy conversion.The proposed ITM is ultralight,breathable and stretchable and is quite stable under various mechanical deformations.On the one hand,the ITM can achieve a superior instantaneous power density;on the other hand,the ITM shows excellent sensitivity serving as epidermal sensors.Precise health status monitoring is readily implemented by the ITM calibrating by detecting vital signals and physical activities of human bodies.The ITM can also realize acoustic-to-electrical conversion and distinguish voices from different people,and biometric application as a noise dosimeter is demonstrated.The ITM therefore is believed to open new sights in epidermal electronics and skin prosthesis fields.
基金The work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant No.52275298)the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program(Grant No.20220817165030002,and No.GXWD2021B03).
文摘Mechanoreceptors play a vital role for animals to sense and monitor environmental parameters,like flow speed,tactile resistance,and pressure.The hairy-structured trichoid sensillum,a common type of mechanoreceptor in insects,is generally non-motile,embedded in a socket connected with cuticular substrate.However,we discover that the trichoid sensilla on the tongue of western bees(Apis mellifera L.)is rotatable and can be actively maneuvered by bees.The trichoid sensilla together with the socket base are mounted on the origami-like sheath of the tongue,and can rotate outwards along with the deformation of the tongue sheath.We illustrate that the rotation of the tongue sensilla hairs can locally generate shear force in the liquid to sense the viscosity,which may facilitate bees to adjust their feeding strategies.The viscosity sensitivity of the rotatable trichoid sensilla based on the origami-like mechanism,according to our mechanical model,is 13 times greater than that of the fixed sensilla.In addition,our finite element analysis shows that strain would concentrate on the trichoid sensilla base when rotating in the liquid,which may structurally enhance its perception sensitivity.This study reports a new mechanism of active mechanoreceptors and may have implications for origami mechanisms with correlative functional components,especially for micro-robotic systems used in underwater viscosity sensing.
基金supported in part by grants from the Science and Technol ogy Commission of Shanghai Municipality 073205109the National Natural Science Foundation of China 30970365,and Hydrobiology funding project S30701.
文摘Light and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)were used to study the epidermal lateral line system of the Si-berian sturgeon(Acipenser baerii Brandt,1869).This system consists of mechanoreceptive neuromasts,ampul-lae and the electroreceptive organ.The neuromasts are located in 5 pairs of cephalic and 1 pair of trunk canals and superficially in the middle and posterior pit lines that lie dorsomedially along the top of the skull immedi-ately adjacent to the otic ampullae field.Both canal neuromasts and pit organ superficial neuromasts have oppo-site polarized hair cells that are parallel along the axis of the canal and pit line,respectively.However,they dif-fer in both size and shape and in the density and length of the hair bundles.The ampullae are confined on the head,adjacent to the neuromast lines.The morphological structure of the ampullae in the Siberian sturgeon is similar to the ampullae in elasmobranchs and other primitive fish.Nevertheless,it has a relatively large mucus-filled ampulla,and a shorter and narrower canal leading to a small opening to the outer epidermal surface.We also present new information concerning the peripheral innervation of lateral line receptors in sturgeons.The re-ceptors of the lateral line system are innervated by 2 pairs of cranial nerves:anterior and posterior lateral line nerves.The peripheral processes of the anterior lateral line nerve form superficial ophthalmic,buccal,otic and anteroventral rami.The peripheral processes of the posterior lateral line nerve form middle,supratemporal and lateral rami.
文摘Almost every life form,from the tiniest bacterium to humans,is mechanosensitive,implying it can use mechani-cal stresses to trigger certain physiological responses in the form of electric signals.Mechanotransduction largely relies on ion channels that respond to mechanical forces,such as the epithelial sodium channels/degenerins,tran-sient receptor potential channel,and the two-pore domain potassium channel.Piezo1 and Piezo2 proteins were discovered to be the biggest non-selective mechanosensitive cation channels in the cell membrane.A substantial amount of research has previously been published on the Piezo channel’s function in touch sensation,balance,and cardiovascular regression.However,the mechanistic perspective must be refined to fully understand the role of Piezo proteins in tissue engineering.This review centers on the latest insights into the structure of Piezo chan-nels,activation mechanisms,and its interactions with cytoskeletal components,by emphasizing the physiological activities of Piezo channels in different tissues.The study also places focus on the possibilities of targeting this cation channel family as a tissue regeneration aid.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2018YFA0703500)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.52232006,52188101,52102153,52072029,51991340,51991342)+2 种基金the Overseas Expertise Introduction Projects for Discipline Innovation(No.B14003)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2021M700379)the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities(No.FRF-TP-18-001C1)。
文摘The cognition of spatiotemporal tactile stimuli,including fine spatial stimuli and static/dynamic temporal stimuli,is paramount for intelligent robots to feel their surroundings and complete manipulation tasks.However,current tactile sensors have restrictions on simultaneously demonstrating high sensitivity and performing selective responses to static/dynamic stimuli,making it a challenge to effectively cognize spatiotemporal tactile stimuli.Here,we report a high-sensitive and self-selective humanoid mechanoreceptor(HMR)that can precisely respond to spatiotemporal tactile stimuli.The HMR with PDMS/chitosan@CNTs(PDMS:polydimethylsiloxane;CNT:carbon nanotube)graded microstructures and polyurethane hierarchical porous spacer exhibits high sensitivity of 3790.8 kPa^(-1).The HMR demonstrates self-selective responses to static and dynamic stimuli with mono signal through the hybrid of piezoresistive and triboelectric mechanisms.Consequently,it can respond to spatiotemporal tactile stimuli and generate distinguishable and multi-type characteristic signals.With the assistance of the convolutional neural network,multiple target objects can be easily identified with a high accuracy of 99.1%.This work shows great potential in object precise identification and dexterous manipulation,which is the basis of intelligent robots and natural human-machine interactions.
基金supported by Guangdong Major Talent Project(2019CX01X014,and 2019QN01C177)。
文摘Flexible pressure sensors with high sensitivity and linearity are highly desirable for robot sensing and human physiological signal detection.However,the current strategies for stabilizing axial microstructures(e.g.,micro-pyramids)are mainly susceptible to structural stiffening during compression,thereby limiting the realization of high sensitivity and linearity.Here,we report a bending-induced nonequilibrium compression process that effectively enhances the compressibility of microstructures,thereby crucially improving the efficiency of interfacial area growth of electric double layer(EDL).Based on this principle,we fabricate an iontronic flexible pressure sensor with vertical graphene(VG)array electrodes.Ultra-high sensitivity(185.09 kPa^(-1))and linearity(R^(2)=0.9999)are realized over a wide pressure range(0.49 Pa–66.67 k Pa).It also exhibits remarkable mechanical stability during compression and bending.The sensor is successfully employed in a robotic gripping task to recognize the targets of different materials and shapes based on a multilayer perception(MLP)neural network.It opens the door to realizing haptic sensing capabilities for robotic hands and prosthetic limbs.
